Questions tagged [taxonomy]
Questions on the classification of biological organisms, and the methods used for classifying them.
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How can I find out where the holotype of a species is?
When I visit the Wikispecies page for Synapturanus zombie, it tells me where the holotype is, as does the paper which describes the species. But on visiting the page for Quercus gambelii, the holotype ...
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Are all unicellular eukaryotic organisms protists?
I know that the Protists are in Domain Eukarya, and that some protists are unicellular. Are there any other eukaryotic group of creatures that are not protists that are unicellular?
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Good source for current taxonomic keys
I’ve recently taken back up my interest in entomology and taxonomy. I used to be a biologist, but have long since moved to another field to make my way. I realize that all of my taxonomic keys are ...
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Why is tautonymy forbidden in botany?
From Merriam Webster:
tautonym: a taxonomic binomial in which the generic name and specific epithet are alike and which is common in zoology especially to designate a typical form but is forbidden to ...
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Are bacteria members of Kingdom Monera or a separate domain by themselves?
The openstax biology textbook by Rice University says: "For example, after the common beginning of all life, scientists divide organisms into three large categories called domains: Bacteria, ...
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What is a fungus formally?
Fungi are immotile eukaryotes that do not have chloroplasts or perform photosynthesis. Yet there are other organisms that fit this definition that are not fungi, for example slime molds. What is the ...
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Are these algae responsible for concrete staining the same organism?
I am interested in studying the effects of algae that cause concrete staining on the walls in my city, particularly because this green growth is widespread in my country, Quito, Ecuador.
Since I am ...
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Is there a comprehensive Taxonomical ID database?
I know there are resources that outline the latest taxa, such as wikispecies or Kew Gardens. However, I have not found any resources which detail the defining features of each taxa. Are there any ...
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Largest crinoid species
On the wikipedia page of crinoids (sea lilies and feather stars), one can find the following statement in the paragraph "Morphology":
[...] and fossil species are known with 20 m (66 ft) ...
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Plants taxonomy: priority of names published in the same year
Article 11.3 of the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants states that the earliest valid name with the same rank has the priority.
The question is: if two names (or more...) ...
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What is the origin of the name Crassostrea gigas (pacific oyster)?
Context
I am looking for a source that reveals the origin of the name "Crasssostrea gigas". This is an oyster also known under the common names giant oyster, Japanese oyster, Pacific oyster ...
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Repetition of "Clade" in a taxonomic tree
Animals and plants are somtimes classified (organized) into a taxonomic tree data structure. The term "tree data-structure" comes from the fields of computer science and software development....
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Explaining "paraphyly" for the layperson?
I was a molecular biology major a while ago, but I never think I really understood cladistics TBH. Now reading about paraphyly, it shows this:
In this phylogenetic tree [second image], the green ...
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Biological Key for Yard Weeds?
I'm tinkering with an idea for an app to identify yard weeds, just as a personal project. I've been looking for some sort of dichotomous key (ie, "Does it have fur?" "Does it have ...
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What are the W and DSM codes for the following bacteria referring to?
In this paper the following bacteria are listed:
Bifidobacterium bifidum W23 (DSM 26331)
Lactobacillus salivarius W24 (DSM 26403)
Lactobacillus acidophilus W37 (DSM 26412)
Lactobacillus casei W56 (...
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Taxonomy of viruses
There is a distinction drawn in the ICTV code between "valid names" and "accepted names".
Valid names are those that are published and comply with the rules outlined in the code, ...
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If Myxozoa is animal, so what is really animal?
I read about the new discovered creature call Myxozoa and it say that Myxozoa is animal because of it possess cnidocysts like other cnidarian. But why doesn't it is a converge evolution ?
Myxozoa ...
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Why and who: named some fish "bashers" (African electrofish taxon "stonebasher")
Folklore question for itinerant elephantfish/electrofish experts happening to see this:Is any stonebasher fish named for a behavior related to bashing...
something or some part of its anatomy against ...
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What are the differences and relationships between online plant taxonomy databases (POWO, WFO, WCSP, WCVP), and is one considered the most reliable?
Each of these databases has their own summary of their aims and process - but they rarely seem to mention each other in comparison. It's hard to figure out what differences or relationships exist ...
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Where to find all "authorities" for taxonomic names?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Author_citation_(botany)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Author_citation_(zoology)
I am using NCBI to get a fairly complete list of organisms and their taxonomic name. ...
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Examples of subvarieties and forms in botany or other biological nomenclature?
So I found a fairly complex Rhododendron subgenus to subsection classification list, and despite there being ...
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blackberry: what morphological features suggested the species epithet "bifrons"?
What morphological features suggested the epithet "bifrons" in Rubus bifrons? The scientific name of the familiar invading species "Himalayan Blackberry" (or "European ...
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Order of iNaturalist taxon levels
Purpose
I want to take a collection of iNaturalist observations and build a tree diagram of the taxonomic levels that occur in that sample.
Background
Most of us have seen diagrams like this
or like ...
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Animal specific names with non-alphabetic characters
I'm part of a research team that investigates and documents native bee species, and we identified one of our Andrena specimens as A. w-scripta. With over ten years of experience in insect and ray-...
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What are the apomorphies of Streptophyta that delineate them from Chlorophyta in Viridiplantae?
I'm reading through Plant Systematics, 3rd Edition by Michael G. Simpson, and am having a hard time understanding the differences between the Chlorophytes and Streptophytes - discussed in Chapter 3: ...
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Humans are Apes are Primates. But will they remain so?
Not a biologist here as you will propably be able to tell.
I understand that throughout the tree of life each species at the leaves at the same time also belongs to all the parent categories up the ...
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What organism is this? Repetitive, long thread, double spikes, ... (from a human sputum sample) [closed]
Link to video
Collected in Portugal.
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Identify grasshopper species
I found this grasshopper on a house door in central Italy. It did not move for the whole day. I can tell it's a grasshopper, however I am unable to determine the exact species.
Size: ca. 6cm
Feel free ...
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What morphological traits can be used to diagnose members of the Eucalypteae?
I read the Wikipedia article on Eucalypteae and it doesn't actually say what these plants have in common.
(I am now reading through https://bsapubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.3732/ajb.1200025 ...
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RNA sequencing and taxonomic analysis of gut microbiome
I've been searching for methods of RNA sequencing, and I always find that the step of rRNA removal is emphasized. However, in my research, I need to analyze both functional and taxonomic data from the ...
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meaning of the name "Dictyostelium discoideum"
Dictyostelium discoideum is a well-known species of slime mould.
Does anyone know what the name means?
Here's my best guess.
I found the 1935 article in which it was first described, but there doesn't ...
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What do you call members of a same species that show some morphological differences depending on their environment and/or diet?
What do you call members of a same species that exhibit a number of morphological differences depending on their environment and/or diet?
I was thinking of the term "different phenotypes," ...
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Why is the author citation of Polypodium porosum (C. Presl) Mett.?
I would like to understand what constitutes a valid taxonomic description of a species in botany and by chance I encountered this example (which I otherwise know nothing about).
Either
Pyrrosia porosa ...
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Can DNA barcoding be employed to determine the order of an unidentified haematophagous parasite?
Given: a specimen of an unidentified, highly adapted, haematophagous parasite, perhaps a species nova, contaminated with mammal blood and tissue.
DNA barcoding is readily used to identify cryptic ...
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Can you identify this caterpillar?
Hi on my walk home in may i found this larvae crawling on a small road between grass and fields. All the yellowish larvae i know are looking totally differend than this. The origin of this picture is ...
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What is the current accepted taxonomy of the Citrus genus, and how do common cultivated fruits fit into it?
I want to learn about the taxonomy of Citrus, and how cultivated fruits fit into it. I know that the history of cultivated citrus fruits is full of hybridisation and that the taxonomic classifications ...
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Is the Orca a Whale?
I've read that "all dolphins are whales". I've also read that "the killer whale (orca) is a type of dolphin" and that "orcas are not whales, they're dolphins."
But if the ...
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References for historical momentum in asexual species definitions
For sexually reproducing organisms, the scope of a species is somewhat fixed by reproductive compatibility.
However, this all collapses for organisms that exclusively reproduce asexually.
Here, my ...
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Question about the use of Var. in different species
I just recently started studying Taxonomy and seem that I am the only one that got such question in the Internet...so pardon if this is a silly question...and my silly grammar because it is not my ...
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How can I learn botany/plant ID by myself?
I am interested in sources and methods regarding botany and plant ID, and being a self-taught person. Textbooks, sites etc.
Thank you all in advance!
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How to convert a genus name to a noun or adjective
Consider the crayfish family Cambaridae. As I understand it, this familial name can be turned into an English noun or adjective by changing the first letter to lower case and dropping the "ae.&...
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A word that includes plants and fungi, but not animals [closed]
Hello biologists and biology enthusiasts!
I am working on a project which includes information about plants and fungi. It would be very helpful for me if there a word that means plants-and-fungi, but ...
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Are animal cells animals themselves?
If all life can be divided into several kingdoms, and if the cells that make up organisms are the smallest units of life, does that mean that cells are part of those kingdoms as well? E.g. are animal ...
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Is amphibians being descended from fish reflected in the animalia taxonomy?
I think it is common knowledge that amphibians are descended from fish. At some point there was a transition from sea to land.
But when I try to confirm this through the Animalia taxonomy, the ...
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Is there a taxonomy of species with emergence and extinction dates?
I know the NCBI has a list of each species and their place in the evolutionary tree. But do they have the dates that these species existed? Does any such database (partial or complete) exist anywhere?
...
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What is the current state of research on the relationship between sponges, ctenophores, and other animals?
I've been reading about the basal taxonomy of animals recently, and it seems as though there is some controversy surrounding the classification of sponges, ctenophores (comb jellies), and all other ...
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confusion in types and kingdom system of classification
I am a high school student and I want to ask: is the 'kingdom system' of classification (two-kingdom, three-kingdom etc.) different from artificial or natural classification? I am asking this because ...
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What websites biologists use to check what new plant or animal species have been discovered in the world?
What are the databases or websites that biologists use to check what new plants or animals have been found in the world? The service should list the location of the discovery, time of discovery, image ...
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Are diplobacillus physically connected?
I know that a diplobacillus is a bacillus bacteria that has a buddy 'attached' to it.
What I haven't been able to determine is exactly how is it 'attached'? Are their cell membranes fused - are they ...
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What author citation and abbreviation does (would) a monarch or a crown prince get after publishing a new taxon name?
Even though taxonomic rules appear to be silent about this (I've checked ICN Art. 46 and ICZN Art. 51), author citations, as well as abbreviations, are usually based on a surname. However, monarchs ...
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